Russian woman Shandogli spoke about her rescue from the Gaza Strip under fire
About a hundred Russians and Palestinians rescued from the Gaza Strip were flown to Domodedovo on the night of November 15. Almost half of them are children. People were able to survive in the sector under incessant bombing by hiding in shelters and making forays for water and food. A Lenta.ru correspondent spoke with arriving Russians and refugees about life in a region cut off from the world at the height of the war between Israel and the Hamas group.
Russian woman Yulia Shandogli told Lenta.ru that her house was destroyed on the third day after the start of the bombing of the Gaza Strip. As a result, a woman with two daughters and a granddaughter, who is less than a year old, had to seek refuge with a friend in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the region. However, the city also regularly was subjected to Israeli attacks, and at some point the family and several other people had to hide from shelling in a garage.
According to the Russian woman, she had to leave the shelter every day in search of food. “There is no bread at all in the Gaza Strip,” she said. — The drinking water is of terrible quality. In fact, it’s not even drinkable. This is desalinated water of one degree of purification. It makes me want to drink even more and causes health problems.”
The woman shared that the bad water caused serious harm to the health of her granddaughter, and the child’s mother began to have problems with breast milk.
Our child has been practically unconscious all month. It’s hardest for children. We – adults – will survive
The husband of the Russian woman, who works as a doctor at the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, Al-Shifa, remained in the medical facility with his patients. The complex constantly came under fire from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). On the morning of November 15, it was reported that the Israeli army had taken control of the hospital.
The woman added that for now she plans to stay at a temporary accommodation center in the Moscow region to rest, and then go with her family to her native St. Petersburg.
A Palestinian evacuated from the Gaza Strip said there is nowhere to hide from bombs in the region
Palestinians evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Russia, with whom Lente.ru was able to talk, said that they graduated from Russian universities back in the Soviet years. During their studies, they met their future Russian wives and their families. These men speak Russian well and purposefully go to visit relatives.
Palestinian Abuhatab Ayat told Lenta.ru that it is impossible to hide from bombs in the Gaza Strip. Due to the lack of diesel fuel and gasoline, he and his family had to walk almost the entire way to Rafah checkpoint. The man added that many people wanted to cross the region’s border with Egypt, but, as Ayat believes, only a few have a chance to do this.
He expressed gratitude to Russian diplomats and rescuers who managed to ensure that the families were able to pass the checkpoint, and also organized a transfer to Cairo, hotel accommodation and a special flight to Moscow.
Another Palestinian, Zaid Aiman, evacuated with his family from the Gaza Strip, left his home on October 7. Now the man does not know whether his home has survived.
A rocket landed a hundred meters away from us. The situation is terrible. People lie around you. Right on the street. Bombs are falling everywhere
Ayman, along with thousands of other civilians, spent more than a month at the UN school, which they all hoped Israel would not bomb. On November 13, he and his family arrived at the Rafah checkpoint. “We spent ten hours at the border. Then we went to Cairo. From Cairo to the airport,” a Palestinian described the evacuation.
Having flown with the Russians to Domodedovo, he accidentally met the Jordanian Fahid Jaber, with whom he studied at a university in Volgograd.
The Russians had to travel from the Gaza Strip to Egypt on donkey carts
The first 70 Russian citizens, including 27 children and a pregnant woman, crossed from the Gaza Strip to Egyptian territory on November 12. Due to lack of fuel, some had to travel to the Rafah checkpoint on donkey carts. Already on November 13, a flight with evacuated Russians arrived in Moscow.
A total of 208 Russian citizens were removed from the Gaza Strip. As Roman Okhotenko, director of the Information Policy Department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, said at the airport, all of them are provided with sets of warm clothing, but are in serious condition.
“People are psychologically exhausted,” noted General Okhotenko. “Our task force will return to the Rafah checkpoint again and will wait for other Russians and members of their families to leave.”
According to Daniil Martynov, adviser to the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the department’s list includes 625 Russians subject to evacuation from the Gaza Strip. Thus, more than 400 Russian citizens remain in the enclave. Another 40 people are waiting to fly out of Cairo. The arrival of the flight with them at Domodedovo is scheduled for November 16.
The escalation in the Gaza Strip occurred on October 7. Then militants of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas attacked the border areas of Israel. On the first day, they fired thousands of missiles, broke into the country and took hundreds of hostages. Israel called the attack a war and launched massive retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip. As a result, many Russians were trapped in the Palestinian enclave.
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